Chapter 4

"He sits still, virtually motionless. He doesn't respond when spoken to. He only faces the wall. Sometimes when I busy myself with other chores, or sometimes when I look up from my book, I find that he has taken to intently staring at me. His gaze frightens even me, his own creator. But… he still doesn't speak. He is not devoid of a spirit. He has a soul, or a corrupted and tainted form of a soul. But… my late brother, he isn't."

Erza narrowed her eyes. That was some of the most subtly disturbing diary entries she had ever read. After Natsu's ordeal with the demon, she had been trying to research more about Zeref in order to find a weakness to be able to defeat him. Or even just know more about him. But the more she dowsed over his old recovered documents and books and his old writings, the more questions formed in her mind. Who was Zeref? Was he an ordinary human like her? If so, where did he gain his ungodly amount of power? What kind of power did he even hold? And… if he wasn't human, what was he? An ancient God? A demon? A messenger?

She looked up from the book that had been compiled of his old writings that had been recovered since centuries, and at Levy. Levy sat across from her on the other side of the bed in which lay Natsu. Erza happened to see that her eyes were fixed on Natsu. They were welling with tears. Maybe Lavy was still disturbed from what had happened with Natsu. Erza quickly hid her eyes into the book again, not letting Levy know that she had seen her crying. Erza knew how much Levy cared about Natsu. They had been good friends in their childhoods. And this was the state of the rest of the guild as well. Whether one decided to silently drink away their grief from what happened to Natsu, or talked it away with others, or silently shed some tears like Levy did, everyone was saddened about the recent happenings.

But Natsu's return to safety was also being viewed as their first victory against Zeref. He had defeated a demon from Zeref's army successfully. Some of the townsfolk were celebrating. Atleast, the ones that weren't close enough to Natsu to really know that it was barely a moment to celebrate, given his fragile comatose state after the fight. But Erza didn't blame them. The world needed reasons to celebrate happiness, especially now, when a dark war that they had less than no chance of winning was approaching them so fast.

Erza shut the book audibly, letting Levy know that she was done reading for now, to give her enough time to wipe her eyes, atleast. Levy did exactly that, and looked at Erza.

"It's confusing, isn't it? Zeref's life?"

Erza looked at her as she ran her fingers on the back of the book. "It's… frightening. I had expected that Zeref's monstrous and frightening image in my mind would change after I read something about him, and knew more about him. But… It only makes me feel more grave and morbid. Who… who exactly was he?"

Levy gave her a small smile. "No one knows. We know so much about him from his documents and letters and diaries that he has left behind for us, and yet we know nothing. He had an inclination towards literature, that's for sure. He wrote a lot, which is why we have so much research on him. What I have given you is still a piece of his documents from quite early in his life. The later writings… are even more frightening. In some of them, he goes into long and inane throes of incomprehensible mesh of words and letters for lengths at times. Even as long as twenty to thirty pages of nothing but nonsense. A mix of common language and his own language that he had created… Zerefian. Whether he did this because he was going insane because of Ankhseram's curse, or because he was trying to encrypt his writings to hide it from his enemies he knew he would create in the future… we don't know."

Erza felt interested. "So… Ankhseram's curse on him. What's that about?"

Levy answered. "The diary entry you just read, about his brother that he brought back to life? Because he defied the laws of life and death by performing necromancy, Ankhseram, the God that is supposed to preside over life and death cursed him into a painful unending immortality. Just because he wanted to see his beloved brother again."

Erza looked back down at the book and flipped through its pages blindly. "His brother…"

Levy nodded. "Yes. From everything we know, he loved his brother to death and beyond. And his untimely death turned Zeref insane. Even before Ankhseram's curse did that. It is very clear that Zeref only researched occult magic in the first place to bring his brother back to life. But he started to write more demons into existence later on. Whether this was to create an army or just because he went insane is unclear. If this was to create an army, he most likely created more demons to punish the world that had taken his brother from him. That would explain his intention for evil. And the purpose behind him declaring this war."

Erza looked up. "Who was his brother? Is he still with Zeref?"

Levy shook her head. "We have no idea. He could already be dead. Or maybe still in league with Zeref. Zeref never mentioned his brother by name. Maybe he wanted to hide his true identity. Or maybe, he didn't feel that he deserved to even utter or scribble his brother's name after not being able to save him from death. He gave his brother another name after he had turned him into a demon–Etherious. Where is this Etherious… or who he is, is unclear."

Erza trailed her eyes down Levy's arm, and then looked at the ground. Zeref had someone that he loved to a fault taken away from him, and thereby declared a war on the world that had taken that person away from him. Her eyes slowly trailed up to Natsu, and she stared at his sleeping bandaged form. If anyone were to take Natsu away from her, she would…

She shook her head and dismissed that thought, before she would even come to the conclusion that she would have done exactly what Zeref did.

She sighed uncomfortably. She didn't want to admit it, but she might have felt what someone could call a form of empathy for Zeref at this point. She still couldn't forgive him for hurting the scores of innocents that he had, but when it came down to it, it really felt that his anger must have been justifiable. Erza now knew that he wasn't an inherently evil figure that wanted to destroy the world because he was evil, but rather because he wanted someone to pay for his brother being taken away from him. Erza found herself in a conflict. She had started to research Zeref to know more about him, to find a weakness, but all she ended up coming across was a part of his story that… made her weirdly root for him?

She shook her head again, clean of those thoughts. How could she even think of that? She needed to get her mind straight. Zeref was the enemy. His anger may have been justified, but his goals were unreasonable. He needed to be stopped, one way or the other.

She looked up at Levy again. "If Etherious is still alive, how strong is he?"

Levy got uneasy at that question. She looked down at her knees and grabbed them tightly.

"Well, from what we know, soon after Zeref declared a war on the world 700 years ago, Magna Carta was established. Dragons and humans were allied together after that. Dragons started training the select few strongest amongst the humans into dragon slayers. Zeref knew that if he went against humans then, the dragons would join the battle against him, so he declared a war on dragon kind first. He sent Tartaros to hunt down and kill every single existing dragon. Etherious led this war. We don't exactly know how that war went, but the reason behind such a small number of dragons and dragon slayers in the world is wholly attributed to Etherious's merciless campaign to hunt them down and kill them. At that time, Zeref didn't know that Acnologia wasn't on humanity's side, and didn't agree to the terms of Magna Carta. So, Etherious was sent to battle him as well. They say their battle raged on for months. And finally, even Acnologia was forced to surrender to Etherious and flee the battle. He is still hiding from Tartaros. They say Etherious and Acnologia are naturally drawn to each other due to that unfinished battle. Back to your question, from that I'd say that Etherious is just as strong and terrifying as Acnologia and Zeref. Even more terrifying, I'd say, because we have quite a lot of research on Zeref and Acnologia. About Zeref's brother, on the other hand, we know next to nothing. He is a whisper in the night. A phantom."

"Do you hear them? Do you hear the reverence in their tone? They talk about you as if you're a god."

Natsu had again woken up in Etherious's dimension. But this time, he could hear what was going on around him in the real world. Natsu knew that Etherious had especially let Erza's and Levy's voices into this dimension this time, so that he could make Natsu hear what they were talking about. So that he could make Natsu hear the fear and terror that his friends exhibited at the name of Etherious.

Natsu turned around, outraged, and found Etherious standing behind him. "That isn't reverence, you bastard. That's fear. And they are talking about you, not me. You are Zeref's brother, not me."

Etherious looked at him, offended. "Fear is the only true reverence. About 700 years ago you would have agreed with me. Your mere gaze would draw your soldiers in Tartaros into panic and subordination. That is true service. And second, you and I are one. You can't deny a fact."

Natsu growled in bated anger. If he had any recollection of his past before Igneel–whatever it might have been, he would have been able to debate this demon. But the truth was, his past before Igneel was an empty canvas. And whatever the demon was saying was being drawn on it anew. And it painted an ugly picture.

Natsu clenched his fists, and looked down. "I can't be Etherious. The demon that the world is so terrified of, the leader of the Tartaros… the transgressor of so many crimes and outrages. I… I just can't be him."

Etherious watched Natsu tumultuously dig through the memories of his past. But the fact was, he wasn't aware of any of it. Etherious had an advantage there. An advantage that he could exploit.

"Your body is the same as mentioned, that's why we look similar. But the entirety of your spirit, which is me, has been sealed deep within you inside a sealed cage. Igneel created that seal, and Polyurischia maintains it, unbeknownst to you. That's why your magic behaves as erratically as it does. You are already aware how it behaves out of your control sometimes. Sometimes you create too much fire, and sometimes none at all. Sometimes they are too hot and bright, and sometimes they aren't. Sometimes they breathe out of you when you're asleep. It's all because the fire magic that you possess is sealed along with me within you, only releasing in bursts at a time. Is that enough for you to believe me?"

Natsu just gawked at the dark shiny floor under him. His reflection was slightly blurry, just like his mind and his thoughts at the moment. Natsu did definitely have experience with his magic behaving erratically at times. How would Etherious know about it? And how come Etherious was trapped within him anyways? And how did Natsu never know about it? The only answer to any of that was what Etherious had just told him. Nasty was born as Zeref's brother, died at some point in his youth, and was resurrected as Etherious. And then he went on to battle Igneel at some point in time as part of Zeref's war on dragonkind. Then Igneel sealed Etherious away inside his own body… and what remained was him. Natsu Dragneel. Was that why those two demons that Natsu had just fought a few days back referred to him as their 'master'?

As much as Natsu didn't want to admit it, it all made too much sense. All the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly. It was all too convenient to believe in. All of it added up.

Etherious walked closer to Natsu, and placed his hand over his shoulder. Natsu looked up at Etherious's handsome face.

"Trust me. I wouldn't lie to you. I am you after all. Look at Erza. She is scared and worried. She doesn't know if she is strong enough to fight her enemies that are coming after her and everyone else she cares about in this war. The mage alliance, honestly, is outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. Backed up. But, what they don't realise is that they have a weapon on their side. One of the strongest and best fighters and magicians in the world. You. Let me out, and you will have power you have never known before. You can order Tartaros down with your authority alone. Then comes Zeref's armies and his personal guard. His armies will be no match for you, and as for his personal guard–Etherious had always been leagues above August and Irene. You can dismantle Zeref's armies and those two single handedly. Acnologia? He is nothing compared to your might. You have defeated him once, and you will defeat him again. As for Zeref, he can be a problem. But together, you and I can defeat him too. Awaken, Natsu. And let the world see how truly terrifyingly strong you are. Your enemies will burn in your fires for eternities to come."

Natsu studied the demon's eyes. In the deep and dark depths of it, he could study… honesty. Natsu somehow knew that whatever Etherious was telling him was the truth. How dumb Natsu had become to be trusting in what a demon was telling him? But… his offer was alluring. With this demon's power, Natsu could save so many lives. He could truly protect everyone he cared about. Erza, Gray, Laxus, Mirajane, Levy, Gajeel… and everyone else. He could end this war single handedly. For all that, giving up his body to Etherious and maybe probably even death was a small price to pay.

Etherious smiled, being able to read Natsu's mind and knowing what he was thinking.

"Good. Now you're thinking with your head. You can awaken now. Once you do, check your pockets. I have a gift for you."

Etherious patted Natsu's shoulders, and then there was silence.

Natsu's eyes slowly fluttered open. Sunlight pierced into his vision, complimenting the severe headache that ran through his brows. He felt like he had been sleeping and immobile for days—and considering how long he had spent in that dark world with Etherious, it might have been true. He narrowed his eyes because of the brightness and looked around. He was in the guild's medical bay, alone. He could vaguely remember what had happened while he was asleep. Even though he was conversing with Etherious, he could remember his fight with Laxus, Gray and Gajeel. There were lapses in his memories. He couldn't remember the events leading upto the fight, but the fight he remembered somehow vaguely.

He slowly rose up from the bed and hung his legs off it. His bare feet touched the cool polished tiles of the floor, and he slowly got off the bed and stood on his legs. Something was missing from his body. His balance wasn't what it once used to be. He looked at his hands… or only one of them. The other one was missing. He looked at his left shoulder, and found that his left arm had been completely amputated off his shoulder. Only a cleanly bandaged stump remained in its place. His mind then overflowed with memories as to what had happened that led up to his arm being cut off.

His possession—or if Etherious was to be believed, his real original form coming forth, his battle with his guildmates, Mirajane's words and requests for him to come back to them, the demon's offers and tricks… and finally, Natsu cutting his arm off for the transformation to come to a halt. Some of his memories were intact, and others completely blurry and fuzzy. What happened during the times that he couldn't remember? Did he hurt his friends badly? Did he injure them? Did he… hurt Erza?

He clenched his teeth together in anger. His clenched right fist shook and trembled. How could he even dare injure his friends? People that cared about him like his own family. People that would do anything for him. People that considered him their brother. A minor loss of control over himself… and he went on a rampage against them. Against Erza. He knew what others were thinking at the moment. That it wasn't Natsu that hurt them. It was the demon. But Natsu blamed himself, and only him. It was by his hands, by his body that he hurt them all. He was the one responsible.

He slowly, stumbling, walked to a nearby table and picked up a jug of water. He slowly poured the water into a glass. Before he could bring the glass to his dried lips to take a sip, his headache pulsed excruciatingly through his head, and his eyes blacked out for a while. He gasped and then stumbled back over the bed he had risen up from. He breathed heavily for a while, before suddenly grabbing the glass filled with water and pelting it against the wall.

"Etherious… LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!"

The glass shattered against a painting on the wall, water splashing everywhere. The painting fell to the floor and shattered itself.

Natsu exhaled in anger, and slowly got up. He walked awkwardly to the painting on the floor and stared at it. It was a painting of him and his teammates painted by an unknown painter while they were on a mission. Gray, Natsu and Erza. He knew the faces in the painting. They were familiar to him. But soon, they weren't. The water from the glass smudged and wetted the colours over the faces. The faces distorted and blurred, expanding and contracting, darkening and lightening. Ugly colours matched with each other, and danced in a dark background to the tone of Natsu's frightened heartbeats.

The faces in the painting distorted, their eyes vanished and were replaced by dark holes. The mouths of the faces started moving, and they started to whisper obscene and profane words into Natsu's ears. Words that made no sense, words that terrified Natsu, whispers that called forth doom and desolation. Natsu shivered. He could hear his and his friends' distorted voices in his head, pleading, begging, crying, bawling…

The walls around him started to distort and convolute too, and faces and hands started to poke through its structure as if the walls were made up of rubber. The faces joined in on the eerie whispers, and the hands converged on Natsu and started to poke and prod at him. Each section of his skin that they touched burnt and seared with an infallible intensity. The whispers drowned out the silence, and Natsu's headache reached a new high. As if the words entering his ears were filling up his head from the inside and would soon explode out.

"What… the fuck…?" Natsu muttered.

He knelt on the ground, squinting his eyes shut and grabbing his heavy head that got heavier each second.

The senseless whispers started to soon make sense, and Natsu could hear strange ancient words and terms. They frightened him, scared him, and pinched and pierced at his heart. He was afraid. He was frightened. He was spiralling into a deep dark world whence there was no return.

As the whispers got louder, so did Natsu's growl.

"aaaaaahhhhhhHHHHHHHH!"

Natsu screamed incrementally.

"Natsu?!"

Through the scores of frightening whispers and his own growl, Natsu heard Erza.

The whispers stopped and receded into the dark world where they had come from, the hands and faces materialising from the wall vanished, and the painting on the floor returned to its normal ruined form.

In the silence, Natsu slowly looked up at Erza. Tears left his eyes as he visualised her frightened and grieved figure standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a white gown that Natsu had never seen before. She looked beautiful.

Erza dropped some medicine for Natsu that she was holding to the floor.

Looking at Erza… broke something within Natsu. After such a long time that he had spent in that dark place conversing with Etherious, his mind had gotten numb and dark. But looking at Erza…the woman he loved more than anything else in the world… the woman who he could always count on…it was a behemoth wash of relief over him. His eyes numbed with tears of joy and relief and longing, and he slowly extended his shaky hand to Erza, begging for her touch.

Erza's eyes blurred when she saw him. He was finally awake. She had known long before he had awoken that he would be fine, but… she was longing desperately to see him moving. To see him looking at her. To see him willingly touch her. To see him calling her name in his soft and calm voice. She had been waiting so long to love him again like she wanted to. Now that she could do that, she didn't want to waste even a single moment.

She walked to him and knelt on the floor, grabbing his head. She slid her forehead against his, both of their eyes ripe with love and affection and tears. Erza was happy, but her heart rang with grief and pain at the same time. It was a confusing ordeal to be in. She was happy because he had finally come about, and she could hold him, and he could hold her. But she was grieved because of the sorry state that he was in. She loved him fiercely, but she could only imagine what he was going through. Right now, he needed all her love, and so much more. And she was capable of loving this man to and beyond infinity.

"Er–Erza… Help me. I am afraid."

Erza shook her head, feeling her tears roll down her nose and cheeks.

"No, Natsu. Don't be afraid. I am right here. It's me. I will protect you. I will never ever let even a single thing harm you anymore. I am sorry that I wasn't able to take care of you, but now, I will protect you. I will take care of you. I will never let you go away from me again."

Erza nudged her nose against his. She then pulled his head over her chest, tightly yet gently embracing him. She loved and adored this man so much that she wanted to make him a part of herself at that moment. Natsu sent his single arm around her waist, and pulled on her, while she kept both of her arms nuzzled around his neck. Natsu shook with each of his sobs, and Erza only cried silently, shedding quiet tears. She wanted to remain in his embrace just like this. She wanted to freeze time. She wanted to halt the passage of moments. She wanted to hold him for as long as she wanted. She wanted him to always be by her side, never even slightly going away from her.

They remained in that position for a while, before Erza slowly pulled his weak figure to his feet. She led him to the bed and lay him down over it. Before she could sit down on the chair next to it, Natsu grabbed her wrist.

"Could you… lie down with me? Please?"

Erza didn't know what to say to that. Why was she even planning on sitting in the chair when that was a possibility? She wanted to lie down with him just as much. Maybe more. She nodded, and before more tears would wet her face, she slowly climbed up over the bed and nudged her face into the cleft of Natsu's neck, her head over his arm. She breathed in his ash like fragrance, and pulled her body as close to him as possible. She could hear his strong heartbeats with her ear that was close to his chest. She corraled her open hair behind her ear, and exhaled in relief and comfort. Why couldn't she just remain like this forever? For eternities to come?

"Erza… I love you…" Natsu muttered.

Erza watched him silently, a tear rolling off her cheek. She loved this man so much it was impossible for her to put it into words.

"I love you, Natsu. More than anything else in the entire world. And I always will."

It was evening. Birds chirped in the trees outside the window, and the medical bay of the guildhall was washed in a subtle and beautiful orange glow.

Natsu sat in a chair, while Erza stood beside him. She slowly untied the dressing around his left shoulder, and started to pull it apart. She has undressed him before, but not in this way.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

Natsu was lost in thoughts. He stared forward, then as if reacting late to her question, he glanced at her.

"No… not really."

Erza watched his jawline, and his pulsating throat as he gulped, then she resumed undressing his shoulder, more carefully.

Polyurischia walked into the medical bay through the door, holding a tray of medicines. She placed that over a table and took a closer look at the wound site that Erza had uncovered.

She smiled in wonder. "It has healed very well. And no infections too. Igneel had a great healing ability as well. You truly are his son, Natsu."

Natsu didn't react. Erza and Polyurischia both stared at him, and then at each other.

"Natsu?" Erza asked.

At that, Natsu looked at Polyurischia. His expression was of what someone would call anger.

"What are you hiding from me, Polyurischia? You say that I am Igneel's son, but… am I really? What is my past before Igneel? I know you know about it. You've always brushed that question off."

Erza moved her gaze from Natsu and looked at Polyurischia. "Do you really know something about it?"

Polyurischia stared at Natsu, concerned. "What happened while you were passed out, Natsu? Did you… talk to someone in your dreams?"

Natsu stared at her for a while. Then he looked away. "Forget it."

Before Polyurischia could find something to say to him, the doors flew open. Makarov followed by Gildarts walked in.

Makarov smiled at Natsu. "Up already? You are strong and fierce, just like how my children need to be! Hahahah!"

Gildarts looked at Natsu's missing hand. "Now we're both missing an arm. Welcome to the club, Natsu."

Erza looked at Gildarts with a murderous intent. "Shut up, Gildarts. Your senile brain thinks that's funny, but it's really not."

Gildarts laughed. "Damn, sorry."

He looked at Natsu. "Hey kid, make sure your wife here doesn't kill me before one of Zeref's monsters does."

He laughed heartily. Erza glared at him, and then he fell silent.

Makarov cleared his throat. "Alright, enough dallying, you twerps."

He looked at Natsu. "Boy, some priests from the temple of Ankhseram have come to see you. About your arm."

Natsu stood up in a show of respect to Makarov. "My… arm?"

"Precisely, master Natsu." The old head priest of the temple walked in, followed by two warrior priests and two ritual priests. They were all dressed in their usual flowing black robes, but appeared as if they all had adorned a new set of those robes. As if today was a special occasion.

"Today is a special occasion, Master Natsu. You have successfully defeated a demon of Zeref and have come back to us unharmed. Although, this victory didn't come without a price."

He looked at Natsu's amputation site. "May I?"

Natsu hesitated for a moment, but nodded and stood closer to the large muscular old man. The man slowly brought his hands to the amputation site and pressed around the edges of the wound. Natsu winced in the expectation of a sensation of stinging, but it didn't hurt at all. It was as if this old man had experience with such wounds.

"The head priest has been trained in medicine, just like mistress Polyurischia." Makarov explained. "He is as much of a doctor as she is."

The head priest then looked around and nodded at the other priests. A woman dressed in black walked forward, holding a tray with a piece of cloth covering it. The head priest took the cloth off, and grabbed whatever was over the tray.

Natsu narrowed his eyes as he saw that it was… an arm covered in bandages.

A left arm, particularly. Natsu's eyes widened as he realised what they were upto. Was that a prosthetic arm? Did they bring that here for him? Where did that arm come from? The one that had separated off of Natsu's body had burnt away if he remembered correctly. What was their plan? Did they plan on reattaching that arm to Natsu's shoulder? Was such a thing even possible?

"Don't worry, Master Natsu. This is just an experiment. You will be completely fine." The old man explained.

He put the prosthetic arm's shoulder end against Natsu's shoulder, and then Polyurischia walked ahead. She placed her hands over the place of union, and murmured some spells. A greenish glow emanated from her hands, and when it was over, the old priest took his hands away.

Natsu stared at his new hand. It didn't fall off. It didn't hurt. It moved according to his will… all the way down to his fingers. Every fine movement was replicated well on that bandaged arm, as if Natsu had his original arm back.

Natsu's eyes widened as he moved the hand around and clenched and unclenched his fist. This was… nothing short of a miracle. Did it really happen?

Gasps of wondrous shock prevailed through the guild hall. Erza, who had been especially saddened at the loss of Natsu's hand, smiled in abject wonder. Makarov and Gildarts had wide smiles plastered over their faces, while Polyurischia was curious and kept studying Natsu's new arm due to her medical intrigue.

The most shocked were the priests of Ankhseram.

"It's… unbelievable. I can't believe that it has worked on you, Master Natsu. How do you feel?"

The old priest exclaimed.

Natsu looked at him. What had worked? "It's a bit stiff and heavy, but it works well. I feel almost as if I have my arm back."

The old man stepped back. "Marvellous. Simply marvellous."

Natsu was confused. It was a wondrous thing, surely, but their shock was so much more than proportionate to the event. Why were they so surprised?

As if to answer his question, the old priest walked forward and pulled the bandages off of Natsu's new arm.

As the bandages rolled off, Natsu glared at the very weird sight that he was visualising. The arm was completely black and shiny, as if made up of a black shiny stone. It was a weird contrast against his glowing skin that the new arm continued off from. And it fit perfectly around his shoulder, as if made specially for him.

A familiar scent filled Natsu's nostrils. It was the scent he would smell in the temple of Ankhseram. That slowly paved the way for a very weird and unique realisation.

His candles. The elusive and mysterious black wax. The stony hard substance that those candles were made of. His new arm was made up of that exact substance. That same wax.

Natsu closely examined his new shiny black arm, looking at his own reflection in it. After all the demoralising experiences he has had with Ankhseram, it was peculiar that he would feel such calm and peace with an arm made up of his wax particularly.

The old priest started to explain. "It is made up of the wax that those candles consist of. When our great lord Ankhseram was sundered, he broke into many pieces, and those pieces became those candles. These have been found to have great healing properties. But apart from a certain application of that wax being able to heal wounds faster, we have never been able to create new body parts to replace the ones that have been lost by our patients. The wax has always rejected the bodies that it was attached to, like master Gildarts here. Somehow, it seems well adapted to you, Master Natsu. Quite like your inability to light those candles, this is something we have never seen before either."

Natsu continued studying his new arm. If the wax was Ankhseram's remains, that would mean Natsu carried a part of Ankhseram's body with him now. And why did the wax choose him of all the people that it has been tried on? What was so special about him? He had thought that Ankhseram was displeased with Natsu after he hadn't been able to light his candles, but now, with this arm attached to him, it somehow directed to something quite opposite. Now, all that was left to be answered was—could Natsu use his fire magic with this arm?

The old priest restlessly moved forward an inch. "Please, go ahead master Natsu. Try using your fire spell with this new arm."

He sounded as if he was asking Natsu to do that more to feed his own curiosity.

Natsu gulped. Was it okay to use his fire spell this way? This was a god they were talking about. One of the most powerful and ancient beings in the entire universe. Someone that presided over death and destruction and warfare. Who knew what the consequences could be? And Natsu had already had a taste of this god's affliction in the temple, wherein he would be projected visions and voices of a cryptic nature everytime he tried to light the candles. Would he have to go through all that again?

Natsu slowly, very mildly, pulsed a weak fire energy through his left arm. He felt the magic pulse through his skin and bones and reach the top of his fingers. As the fire ignited, a black flash emanated from his fingers, and black flames started to brilliantly and powerfully dance in and out over Natsu's new arm.

Natsu's eyes widened. Why were his flames black? The usual colour of his flames was reddish and saffron. Was it because of the arm?

The priests of Ankhseram quickly got down on their knees and hung their heads at the sight of those black flames. Natsu looked at them, confused.

"The flames of Ankhseram!" One of them exclaimed.

Natsu looked back at his flames. These were… Ankhseram's flames?

The old man, kneeling down still, explained. "We always worship these flames at our temple. It's just the first time we have seen it erupting out of someone's person. Ankhseram had blessed you, Master Natsu. You have been chosen by him to put an end to this war."

Hearing all that, Natsu quickly extinguished the flames on his arm. He was getting more confused than already.

But one thing was clear. He had finally, successfully, completely, lit a candle.